About

Welcome back! I've taken some time edit some details with this campaign vs my last one.

Here's some major points that have changed:

• The project will be broken down into multiple volumes, as opposed to one huge project.
• The rewards have all lowered in price by about $5-10 dollars, except for the final reward which has been brought down to $500 instead of $1500 (Less pages means less drawing for me. The value of the reward remains the same!)
• A new, limited reward includes the full digital package along with a bonus print. Since mailing is involved, it's only applicable to US backers.
• The intro video has updated info at the end, although most of it remains unchanged.
• The GOALS section has been re-written. Please be sure to read below!
• If a $2200 goal is met, anyone who pledges $30 or more will now get a t-shirt.

Since I would theoretically only be doing a fraction of the original goal, the content needed to get it going is much more attainable. To recap, here's the history of the project:

Click here to read Chapter 1.

In late 2016, I created a piece that I named ‘Midnight Rider’. After publishing it, I started to consider expanding on the character’s world and her story. I just felt like one piece wasn’t enough to describe the atmosphere that was there.

During this period of thought, I was also riding what is known as the New Retro Wave-- a genre of music that reminisces the days of Don Johnson and pearlescent Lamborghinis. This musical movement helped formulate themes of this young woman’s world, and what qualities (and problems) a futuristic setting might have. It should also be noted that I had not seen Blade Runner up to this point. The exposure to this genre was an experience unlike any other.

The influences from some popular sci-fi are what navigate my writing style.

In the year 2487, mankind has established its first interstellar civilization. Twenty light-years from Earth, in the Libra constellation, exists a planetary system known as Gliese-581. In this system, Zarmina, the sixth planet, rotates in a tidally-locked orbit around Gliese. It is a red dwarf star twice as old as our own Sun, and destined to burn twice as long. For over one hundred years, Earth has been sending colony ships of volunteers to terraform and inhabit Zarmina. The voyage between Earth and Zarmina takes more than twenty years at light speed. A shipbuilding company has constructed a new type of colony ship, the Duskrider, that supports a fully-functioning society for this lengthy journey.

A new social phenomenon is revolutionizing human life on Zarmina. People now have the opportunity to transfer their consciousness to a new body: a synthetic host. The synthetic host doesn’t age. It doesn’t need food, get sick or develop cancer. Transferring essentially means immortality. The process, however, is irreversible. Recently, a colony ship from Earth has docked in Zarmina’s interstellar port city of Vogt. The colony transport, the Duskrider, has brought 300,000 immigrants from Earth in hopes for economic growth. Among this group is Lena. On her life aboard the Duskrider, Lena was a well-known magnacycle racer. Zarminian magnacycle riders have begun insuring their legacies by transferring their consciousness to synthetic hosts. Lena is facing pressure from her team and their investors to protect hers as well. Are humans meant to achieve such powers with life? Does living as a synthetic feel the same? She now finds herself at a diverging path of her convictions, or continuing her passion.

Base Goal

At the initial goal, I can write and illustrate 12-16 pages for Volume 1. This way will be the most time-consuming path, but it will be done exactly how I want it. Keep in mind that this is an illustrated novel, and not a graphic novel. That means that there are larger, more developed images and columns of text, as opposed to panels with dialogue.

In order to hit the deadline, I would need funds to pay for the time I would be utilizing writing and painting. External freelance work would be put on hold while I focus on the novel.

$2000 Reach Goal

If a $2000 goal is met, the digital version will have animated images. Not EVERY image will be animated, but the full-page spreads will be. If the time allows, I could hire an animator to create these under my direct control. It's something I can do myself, but it will go much faster if I have someone animating effects as I finish an illustration. If I can set aside at least another $300 for this, I think I will be golden.

Here's an example of the basic effects that can be added to a stationary image:

At this amount, however, the whole project will have time added to the deadline. With more construction, I will want to take the time to fine-comb any details. Another month or two will be added to the project deadline at this point. Any difference in funds with this goal or the previous will be used for the added printing costs.

$2200 Reach Goal

With an illustrated novel of this scope, I'd like to hire an editor to help with the story. I already know how it will end and main events along the way, but I want someone with much more experience in storytelling to help me make this the best it can be. If a $2,200 goal is met, I'm allocating a few hundred bucks for this work to be done. Oh, and everyone that pledges $30 or more will get a t-shirt.

I pledged to the Duskrider Kickstarter and all I got was this lousy t-shirt.

With the time it will take to draw and navigate the art direction of the story, I want to set aside 1/3 of the funding goal to pay for my own illustration time. I will also send out a monthly newsletter to the backers of the project to update on the progress and show imagery of the work happening.

Cost Analysis

If a $2200 goal is met, anyone beyond this point will get a t-shirt!

Risks and challenges

The part about the project that I am most excited to do is the individual scenes. As opposed to a graphic novel with many small panels, this project will have large page, sometimes two-page, digital paintings. The ultimate challenge will be creating the online version of these panels to animate. The way that I have envisioned the final product is that the scenes will be cinemagraphs (like a .gif, but perfectly looped). I do not consider myself an author. At heart, I am an illustrator. I wanted a reason to create all of these scenes from a different world and to take my art to the next level.
If my goal is met for this project, I want to create a full-length story surrounding our main character, Lena's, adventure on Zarmina. I would love to see the choices that she is faced to make in the advent of AI advancements. The people she meets will influence her decisions and alter their own lives. The literary goal is to draw questions to readers' minds of how technology can not only be a terrifying force of change, but how it can be helpful as well. The end goal is to create a 400-600 page illustrated novel that not only captivates readers by the storytelling, but by the visuals as well.